Effect of Particle Sizes of BaTiO3 (BT) Seed on Microstructure and Electrical Properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3

The study was conducted to find out the effect of particle sizes of BaTiO3 (BT) seed on the microstructure and electrical properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 (BCZT) ceramics. The BT seeds were prepared by the molten salt method. Results indicated that the BT seed powder showed a single pure perovskite phase when using a low temperature of ~750°C. The particle sizes of BT seeds increased from ~381 to ~600 nm with increasing heating temperatures from 750 to 900°C. After that, the different BT seeds were mixed with BaCO3, CaCo3, ZrO2 and TiO3 via the solid state reaction method. The mixed powder was calcined and sintered at 1200 °C for 2 h and 1450 °C for 4 h, respectively. The microstructure, phase formation and electrical properties were investigated. All ceramic samples showed a pure perovskite phase. The density and average grain size values of ceramics were in the range of 5.36-5.47 g/cm3 and 9.83-11.86 μm, respectively. The highest values of dielectric constant (er), piezoelectric constant (d33) were 3393 and 452 pC/N, respectively which obtained at the sample of BT-seed size 372 nm doped.